Near's Story
by Fairylust
Summary: Ryuk comes back and Near ends up telling him about his painfilled past, before Wammy's house. YOU GOTTA READ! Anyways, dis is rated T for some curse words and mild language or whatever. !ALL credit goes to Greenkittenkid4 who is retired from FF!
1. Chapter 1

**Near's Story**

**1**

"We're going out for dinner, would you care to join us?" Halle asked. "We are your teammates, after all, Near. Well, will you join us or not?"

Near shook his head as he lifted his hand upwards to twirl some of his hair. He placed a puzzle piece in the middle of his almost-completed puzzle. As the other three members of the SPK left Near heard a loud, dry cackle.

So dry that the one laughing sounded more or less dead and dried up. He didn't have to turn to know it was the shinigami, Ryuk.

"What do you want? I thought you went back to your own despicable realm."

"Well, after Light died, I _did_ go back but it was so boring! Even if it's only been a month since then, I'm bored out of my wits, kid. And that old fart, the shinigami king, refuses to let me have more than one book. He said that if I lost this one I'd be in deep trouble, or at least deep enough to get tortured before execution. Well, those weren't his exact words but he was pissed I stole another shinigami's notebook. I thought that was very odd since he usually doesn't give a damn about what happened in our realm. Now, I'm bored an have come here for…personal reasons."

"Oh, really, then what 'personal reasons' persuaded you to return to this realm if not to bring Kira back from the grave by giving another human a Death Note?"

With a bored tone he replied, "Entertainment. _You_ will entertain me for the next few hours then I'll return home. And hopefully by next month that old fart will forget about me stealing that other Death Note." Ryuk promised, but Near knew better than to trust the shinigami, the one responsible for the death of his mentor, L and his fellow Wammy House candidates, Mello and Matt. It was pure sense, if Ryuk hadn't dropped the Death Note then no one would have found it and nobody would've died at Kira's hands, or pen as the case may have been.

"How will _I_ entertain you? By writing in that killer notebook? By sacrificing my soul or half my lifespan for your amusement? Or would you rather me burn that notebook so you may explain to your _beloved_ king of how you were stupid enough to give it to a human, once again."

Ryuk cackled again.

Near turned to stare Ryuk in his eyes.

The cruel looking shinigami eyes burned into Near's dark eyes without any effect on the boy's impassive nature. He shrugged carelessly, but wore a wicked smile. Near waited three full hours for words the shinigami refused to say. At last he was force (mostly by his curiosity, which had become intense).

"You can tell me a story."

Near looked at him quizzically. "What kind of story? A fairytale, a scary story or a suspense filled fantasy?"

Ryuk laughed at that. "No, I'm no softie. I want a true story, which is filled with tragedy and about you humans. I want there to be blood and gore or mutilation."

Near gave him a look of total disgust. He didn't like the idea of giving Ryuk any amusement from anyone's pain. The idea was revolting and unspeakable, but Near didn't want Ryuk hanging around so he began to think of a story that fit his description.

"How about you tell me of your childhood in your younger days before you were sent to that place to become L's backup. What did Light call that place? Oh, yeah…Wammy's House. He tended to speak aloud whenever he discovered something particularly interesting. He said children from all over this realm were taken there if their intelligence was good enough, then they were trained to be L's insignificant backup for when he croaked or as some would say…bite the dust."

Near didn't respond to Ryuk's words whatsoever.

"Tell me…Nate River…about your past, before you were taken to be made into a backup plan."

"I'm not L's backup plan. Nor am I his insignificant clone that is suppose to function as he always did. I have y own habits and although I wish I could use every method he did I can't. I've my own set of rules that I follow just as L, Matt and Mello did. Our views and rules vary, but I _am_ L and L _is me_."

Ryuk appeared slightly confused but Near didn't waste any more words on him. After a brief silence Ryuk prodded him to speak, but Near simply ignored him, after several minutes Near got up and walked to his room.

Ryuk followed silently. Standing in front of a large mirror that hung on his bathroom wall Near looked at himself. With a bitter chuckle he looked at Ryuk whom did not cast a shadow or reflection. Ryuk was puzzled at first, but eventually understood. Near thought he was a joke. Parading around carrying the title of L with him everywhere, but long ago he was just an innocent child, who thought he'd grow up with his family, but now, Near realized that he couldn't escape his true name. No matter what, even as L's successor, Near was simply Nate River, just as L was and always had been L. Lawliet. Ryuk smiled another wicked smile. "Ready to tell me what happened? It's not like I'll tell anyone who'll care about your hidden pain, your masked composure, your terrible loss in fact I think any smart ass shinigami would make a smart ass statement and laugh."

Near nodded. "Fine I'll tell you. It should do no harm. After all, I'm sure any scum would enjoy it and say it's funny. Wait, _you are_ scum, aren't you?" Ryuk chuckled and Near heaved a sigh as he began to tell Ryuk his story and as he began to remember it all.

_**Flashback**_

**Story is told in third person…**

"Shut up!" Melody shrieked at her husband. "It was an accident! I d-didn't mean to get involved with any other man!"

Nate kept hidden behind the sofa. He sat with his knees against his chest he held his knees trebling. His parents constantly fought and he became terrified whenever they did because his stepfather, Ty, tended to strike his children whenever they neared him whenever he was angered.

His main victim was Nate, because he _wasn't_ Ty's son. Nate's mother, Melody had gotten drunk at a bar and met a man that was half Thai and half British. He'd gone by the alias or nickname Big Silver.

They got acquainted and since Melody was Thai on her great grandmother's side of the family Big River found her interesting and funny. The two than began to see each other secretly behind Ty's back. Then one night Big Silver and Melody became a little, too intimate, and the next thing she knew Nate was born. Her husband later murdered Silver after he found out about the affair and threatened to beat Melody, but didn't.

Now, the two adults argued about quitting drinking, but Ty was being stubborn about it.

"If you like other men so much why not get them to quit something?" he snapped.

Melody screamed and threw a vase at him. It missed and hit the wall near the sofa. Nate gasped fear tightened his throat. What if he were found? Would he be beaten? Would they ignore him and tell him to go to his room? Would his father beat him half to death, again before his mother is able to stop him? These thoughts terrified Nate so he tried to make himself smaller by scooting backwards a little. He knew someone was going to get hurt, because someone always did. Nate felt fear course through his body, his blood, his life and he felt the tears come from his eyes, again. He didn't know why they came but they always did, even when Nate least expected them to the tears came and flowed down his pale face. Though he rarely tried to cry or even wanted to the tears appeared.

As he tried to bury himself in thought the sofa moved backwards. Looking up Nate couldn't hide his surprise to see Ty glaring down at him. "You little freak!" he shouted grabbing Nate by his arm. "You've been listening in on us all this time!" he accused heatedly. Melody looked at Nate sadly regretting throwing the vase she turned away so she wouldn't have to watch.

That was when the beating began. Nate felt a hard blow to his stomach, then to his face and to his hip. Soon pain coursed through every part of his body. He tried not to cry out in pain. Tried not to speak, because he'd only get beaten harder. Once finished, Ty threw him into a closet and locked the door. After that Nate heard the door to their house slam and heard his mother's protests.

Why did Nate have to be harmed in such a brutal way? Why didn't his other siblings, Sarah and Max get such beatings? He would ask himself these questions while he bled, while the bruises formed on his body.

Later that day he was released but was locked in his room.

Not long after that day came a day when his parents argued about Ty hitting a neighbor boy who went by the name, Connor, in a hit and run. He was afraid to listen, so he hid under the covers of his bed and played with his wind up toy dinosaurs.

A few months afterwards Nate awoke to his eldest sister crying. She explained that she had a nightmare and that she felt it was her last day alive, her and _Max's_ last day alive. She explained that they would die on a train in an accident along with other people. The news troubled Nate but he dismissed his worries as it just being a dream. Later that day he became frightened when Melody ordered that her children meet her at their Grandfather's house and to travel…by train.

Nervous Nate looked around to see if anyone else was nervous, but no one appeared afraid of anything. Then the unexpected happened.

A man stood up and pointed a gun at Sarah's head.

Two more men jumped up behind him and laughed nastily. "What do you want from me?" she asked paled.

"You can start by standing." The leader said. "Stand up and walk to the conductor and tell him to stop this train."

"If I refuse."

The man pointed his gun away from her and at an elderly man. He shot the man killing him instantly. "Or another person dies. How about this kid?" he sneered pointing his gun to Max's chest.

Fearfully Sarah done as she was told without question.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

Nate watched in horror as a man pulled his trigger and killed Max. Tears sled down his face as Max fell to the floor, lifeless. Sarah screamed, as she knew what had been done. Everyone in the train cart was now crying. A loud gunshot from somewhere in the next carts made Nate cover his ears certain he was going to be the next to die. A man laughed as he saw Nate tremble.

Then everything went dark.

Nate woke up in a hospital and could only remember the man laughing. "He's awake now." A polite voice said.

"Where am I?" he asked in a trembling voice. "Where is everybody?"

"Nate River, I'm sorry to say that your family is dead. They were all killed in a train crash and you were the only one aboard to survive. It would seem the bodies around you shielded you from any damage, but I'm terribly sorry for your loss."

"Who are you? Where are my parents?" he asked feeling numbed.

"L, please, speak to him."

A strange looking man stood over Nate within moments. He looked tired and odd, but Nate knew he wasn't a bad guy.

"I'm afraid that they too were on the train. They've died." He said bluntly. Nate nodded he understood everything.

He understood that he was going to get shipped off like a package to some strange orphanage that would hate him although Wammy's House turned out to be very different and he felt better once there.

_**Back In the present**_

Near sat on his bedroom floor playing with marbles. "Now you know my story Ryuk…you may leave." He said.

Ryuk shrugged but didn't leave. "You rushed the ending you know." He criticized.

"So? I gave you pain, blood and all that other stuff you wanted, now leave." He said making a face of disgust. Ryuk laughed and left Near alone.

"Near? Are you in there?" Halle knocked on his door. "Are you speaking with someone?"

"No," Near lied. "I am simply trying to think of what to do without any disturbances."

"Like hell you are!" Ryuk laughed.

Near glared at him. The shinigami laughed as he flew off to return to his realm. _Humans are truly interesting_, he thought as he flew through the night air. _They tell some good_ _stories too._ He added silently.


End file.
